Freelance Consultant's Diary

So I wrote previously what a pain it was to use my FastLane transponder on a rental car .  However, since I had nothing wrong and trusted the system, I thought everything will work out.  In fact, the customer service agent told me that since out-of-state transactions take some time to go through when the machine cannot read the transponder well, I should simply let the rental car on my Fast Lane account for a few days. I did not think too much about it; after all the advice was coming from the EZPass agent.  Then, I got a little busy and forgot about it, but two weeks later when I went to check, along with my relief that all transactions had gone through, I was shocked to notice that another renter of that car was abusing the fact the rental car was listed on my account.  So this is how it works.  If you go through the FastLane exit and the reader finds no transponder, it looks for the license plate in the system and then simply bills the account in which it is listed.  I would have th

A few months back during a trip to New York City, while my EZ Pass worked just fine on MassPike but while crossing the tolls on Henry Hudson Parkway heading into Manhattan, the camera flashed.  Strangely enough, everything worked smoothly on the return trip two days later.  I did not think much about it until I got a letter in the mail from Enterprise Rental Car that I was not only being charged the toll but also a $25 administrative fee.  Calling EZpass MA was a waste of my time because they said that they couldn't do a thing and the problem likely happened because I failed to register my rental car license plates prior to using EZPass.  That is not always an option because you need to remember the account number and password then either do that online or call a number.  If you are on your way directly from the rental car location, it can be a hassle. Last week, however, for a trip to Canada, I rented the car from Hertz for a week even though the trip was just 4 days.  So when I c

Last weekend we were invited to a walk by some friends at the Cochituate State Park in Natick, MA, and to our horror when we arrived there around noon, the park was so overcrowded that the police would not even admit walk-ins.  We had to return home.  Yesterday, we went for a hike in the Hopkinton State Park that it would not be so crowded.  Oh how wrong we were.  It was packed with people and it seemed that everyone there was busy eating rather than hiking or engaging in any physical activity at all.  We have basically decided to not visit the parks during the weekends. So what is driving the overcrowding?   Well, since we have been in this area for more than a decade, we have seen more construction and development every where.  The other thing we noticed that almost no one in the parks speaks English and everyone seemed like an immigrant.  It seems that not only do we need to stop legalization of illegal immigrants we might need to limit legal immigration because we are destroying

It is kind of sad that there are no good, affordable coffeemakers out there.  Some of the good ones can cost hundreds of dollars and the cheaper ones don't make decent coffee for people like me who love their coffee more than their wine (I am told that middle aged men should not drink much alcohol any way if they want to keep their libido).  Plus, the appliance has to go with the decor.  Thankfully, Lorena found one at the Calphalon store at this outlet store (since we live so close to this mall, shopping at an outlet mall is not something special for us) and we bought it right away because it was also on sale. We loved it but just 5 weeks later, I saw an electrical spark and then foul, burning smell of a cable.  When I called the store, a pleasant lady immediately offered to replace it without arguing with me about anything (apparently it is covered under warranty for a year).  She promised to call me back with an update on how to get one for me because they did not have it in sto

If you recall, previously I discussed that during our very first time at the Chestnut Hill Shake Shack trying their frozen custard , Lorena was not impressed (I eat anything as long as it is sweet), but turns out that the company is listening to what customers have to say.  I got a note from their staff that they were sorry that we were not impressed and pleading with us to give them another shot.  Hey, when a company has such nice employees who seem to care, they deserve a second chance, particularly because the next time we go there, it will be another flavor.  While this place is a good 25 miles for us, we wouldn't mind the drive on a beautiful summer evening.  Stay tuned!

While returning from our day trip to Mount Washington by car , we couldn't imagine eating junk food, but we had not done the research for a healthy place to eat.  We did recall going to downtown Concord many years ago and noticing the restaurants, so despite knowing that a lot must have changed, we still exited.  It is right off the highway I-93, parking was a breeze on the street, and when we ventured into a side street (Warren into the Bicentennial Square), we noticed this restaurant, and assuming what could go wrong with tacos and beer, we ventured inside.  Well, it is interesting, because this used to be the local police station and we actually ate inside what used to be holding cells at one time.  What was even more surprising was that the food was delicious, and that is because my Latina wife was impressed.  She thought the flavors were right and everything was freshly prepared.  I had shrimp quesadillas, an appetizer as the main dish, and she chose shrimp tacos.  Strongly re

To be honest, when I like my fix of English beer, I head to England.  What can compare to fish and chips downed with beer in an English pub!  But Lorena convinced me that we should give this restaurant a try (we have seen two in our area: Franklin and Framingham) and during this weekend we did.  I must say that the selection of beers is definitely huge, and while the decor is obviously contrived, they have done a good job.  Food?  Hmmm.....acceptable.  Think of it as a place to check out beers and food just good enough to go along with it.

We had checked out The Street Chestnut Hill last month but last night we got to actually plan dessert at the Shake Shack (unfortunately the menu is simply not for vegetarians or for anyone who seeks variety).  Lorena picked the flavor of the day for frozen custard and since she is the one who has opinions on desserts, let us just say that if you are a PinkBerry fan (and there is one right next door), you should stick to it.  I agreed with my wife that this thing is no better than some cheap icecream from the supermarket.

  My best estimate is that I run north of 700 miles a year but despite the recommendations of companies trying to convince us to replace our shoes more often, I don't.  I have had an asics pair for over three years until last week I noticed that the cushion inside the wall had worn out and a piece of plastic insert was hurting me.  I went shopping at the DSW in Natick and bought a pair of running shoes from New Balance (model number M540SG1) for $55 and now I have used them for several days.  I like them.

Lorena has a girlfriend who works in the Dedham Legacy Place and has been telling her to check it out but it is quite a hike from Milford.  It was only today that we finally managed to motivate ourselves to do it since we had also recently checked out the Street At Chestnut Hill .  Well, we were surprised that the mall is open air and therefore, this is the perfect time to go.  At dinner time, it was in the 80s. Well, it is a usual low middle class mall but had a few good dining options like Aquitaine, Genki, and something called Wicked, which seemed like an attractive option for us, since they have artisan pizza.  If you go as a couple, try to sit in the bar area, which is more lively.  We ate the margarita pizza and I tried a beer from a Maine micro brewery. 

  For years we have bought basmati rice at Trader Joe's and while we have always picked the organic version, reports out of India (from where the rice is imported) say that the soil and water is highly contaminated with carcinogens like lead and arsenic (it is safe to assume that while the farmers may use organic fertilizers, it is doubtful if they will use filtered water).  So it maybe somewhat cleaner than the standard variety but I argued that it might be better to buy the Texmati rice (essentially American basmati grown in the US).  We picked the RiceSelect brand that cost about six bucks for 32 oz (more expensive than the imported one) but I must say that it is nothing like the basmati rice.  The grains stick and there is hardly any aroma.  Lorena now insists that we revert to the organic basmati grown in India.

Well, we heard so much about Shake Shack that we finally decided to check it out.  That also means that it was an opportunity to review the so-called The Street in the Chestnut Hill area, basically a renovated open air shopping plaza that is awesome during nice weather but I am a little skeptical during winter, particularly during the snowstorms.  Verdict on Shake Shack:   Oh sad for us (almost vegetarians), there is nothing but a mushroom burger.  We do eat fish and chicken occasionally, but then this is not the place.  So maybe one of these days when we are in a mood for some sugary treats, maybe we will stop by for frozen custard, but a meal appears unlikely.    So instead we ended up for coffee at Rosie's Bakery and Lorena was delighted to see that there is Pinkberry and Treat Cupcake Bar. New restaurants:   For those of us who like Aquitaine in South Boston but hated going there due to all the parking nightmares, well, now we know there is one in the suburbs.  There are some n

When we go to New York City on a Sunday , if possible, we try to park on the street.  We have a few spots that we have been able to identify over the years and one of them is in the area next to Noodies Thai Kitchen.  Typically, when we are headed towards Boston , we try to leave just before dinner time and then grab a bite on the way.  Unfortunately, in the 195 mile trip, except for junk food, there are not many options.  Recognizing that we would have no choice but to eat deadly food from a fast food restaurant, we wondered if we should eat dinner before hopping into the car. As we were strolling in the area, we spotted Noodies and walked right in despite the fact that we had eaten Thai food for lunch as well (77 East 10th Street).  It is a small place but the staff is friendly and attentive.  I opted for noodles and Lorena ate a soup dish.  Reasonably priced and delicious flavor.  Strongly recommended.

I have been blogging about lack of decent cafes in America and within days of discovering LA Burdick in Boston , during a weekend trip to NYC, we discovered Nespresso by chance, because in the past we have been having our afternoon coffee at one of the many Le Pain Quotidien locations.  We had first had our coffee at the Nespresso location in Miami and were delighted to visit them in Soho. As always, excellent coffee and service.  The opera cake that my wife and I shared was delicious as well.  In fact there is something else that I liked about this location.  In Miami, everything is on one floor so that all those shoppers who want to check out their products create a mess.  On the other hand, in this location, the cafe is on one floor while the shop is on another, creating a true full service cafe environment.

One of the things that we enjoyed while we spent a month in Buenos Aires and during our numerous trips to Spain, England, France, and Japan is a cafe, where you can enjoy fine coffee with a few munchies.  It is even better if there is full service (yes I am happy to pay for it because in self service places like Starbucks, it is a mess -- students and self employed folks camping out on tables). We liked the Render in South End , but more often than not, we end up in the Newbury Street area.  What I like about Burdick is that it is open, clean, and there is plenty of place to sit.  There is also a good selection of desserts but someone who is addicted to dark roast coffee that should be nearly perfect, Burdick has pretty good coffee as well.  I really hope that they never offer free wifi so that it does not attract all those losers who have destroyed Starbucks.

For the time being I continue to be on the cheapest possible mobile phone plan in America , but I have been wondering how to use the Vonage mobile app for making international phone calls from my cell phone using wifi.  You see, I am a Vonage customer and on the plan that I have, I can pretty much make unlimited calls to almost any country in the world using my phone at home.  The company also lets me make phone calls with a cell phone by calling a domestic number, but if you have a smart phone, you can download their app and make/receive calls as if you were at home.  In addition, I have also wondered that on the rare occasion that I need, it will be nice to have access to the web (for directions or searching for a business) on my cell phone (which is currently an old, dumb phone).   So I started to research for a smart phone that will allow me to download apps, surf the web using wi-fi most of the time, but when I need to, I can also access the web without an expensive contract or co

Because I work from home , I have access to at least two phones all the time (I am also noticing that hardly anyone calls any more).  Obviously, I also have access to the Internet on a variety of devices, including my laptop, iPad , and iPod Touch at home.  So when I do go out of the house, the last thing I want to do is to surf the web or use the phone, but it is nice to have a mobile phone for emergencies.  The bottom line is that I rarely use a phone, maybe a few minutes a month.  So it makes no sense for me to have a smartphone and pay almost $100 a month when I have no use for it.   After doing extensive research I found that the Tmobile pay-as-you-go plan is one of the cheapest (there are others lesser known brands often run by large companies but they do not disclose that).  You can buy a fairly cheap phone (for less than $50 you have pretty good phones and I think I paid around $29) and then just add $10 to get 30 minutes that last three months (so that makes the phone cost $3.

After the mess that Reese Witherspoon created in Atlanta, GA, when her husband Jim Toth was stopped by a cop for DUI, I wondered what would a passenger in a stopped vehicle need to do in such a situation.  Now if the vehicle is stopped for some other minor violation like speeding or illegally changing lanes or having a broken light, the process for passengers is straightforward: stay in your seat till the process is over, do not interact on your own with the cop , and chances are nothing more will happen.  If the cop suspects that the driver of the vehicle is drunk, then, obviously he or she will not be allowed to drive the vehicle any more (arrest is made instead), but you maybe able to drive the vehicle home with the permission of the cop (assuming you are not drunk as well).  It is also likely that the vehicle is towed and you will need to find some transportation on your own (ask a friend to pick you up, ride on the tow truck, get a ride in the police car, call a taxi, etc.).  In t

I have been discussing the working from home policies of corporations and clearly Yahoo did not know how to get work out of its employees .  I am actually pretty confident that if Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) employees did not work from home effectively, it will be impossible for them to work in an office too.  The problem is not telecommuting; the main problem is that Yahoo has awful employees and they need to be fired. So with that in mind, look at what Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), its competitor, does.  Company spokesman Jordan Newman tells NYT , "I don’t think we’ve ever had a policy on that (meaning working from anywhere)......we do expect employees to figure out a work schedule with their team and manager. It’s not a free-for-all.”   According to the article, Google doesn’t require employees to work from the office. It doesn’t even keep track of who’s there. The notion seems to have never occurred to anyone.

I am sure if your income is only fifty grand and you have very little assets (or like a quarter of Americans, no assets, but credit card debt and student loans), you will see these millionaires are out of their minds to not be happy.  You probably even fantasize that you would be so happy if just your credit card debt was paid off and you had some money in the bank for emergencies , but trust me, the richer you are, the bigger your expenses, and what might be an year's worth of savings, for some people that is just one trip to Paris. Well, according to the Spectrem Group found that individuals worth $5 million or more are far more satisfied with their jobs, relationships and work than those worth $100,000 or less. Notice the important distinction here.  Instead of just talking about the millionaires (remember there are a lot of millionaires next door these days), they are talking about the so-called penta-millionaires . Before you get any wrong ideas about me, I am not a milliona

If you are like me and like to trade commodities like gold, silver, and oil (I have traded IAU, UCO, and SLV), you will simply need to do a lot more paperwork while filing your income tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Even if you do your taxes using TurboTax, which pulled all my documents from the TD Ameritrade account, I was still stumped when it came time to complete the form related to these trades.  So this is how it works.  Unlike other equities that are simple buy/sell, the commodities are tricky.  Basically, the owner, iShares, of this exchange traded fund (ETF) sells a tiny portion of your holding to cover their costs, and that is why you will see that each month there are trades that you have not made.  In my case, the actual quantity was zero shares and the total proceeds were just $22. So how to calculate the cost basis?   I suggest that you plug the data in a spreadsheet.  In first column, list the 12 months.  In the second column, against each month, add

Yes, the super-rich can lose a billion dollars to gambling , but I thought that was rare.  Elliott Orsillo, CFA, co-founder of Season Investments in Colorado Springs, tells CNBC, "One of my clients had $400,000 in credit card bills. He came to me because it was impeding his ability to fuel his jet. The credit card companies would not allow him to charge his fuel anymore."   If this were not true, I would have thought it was a joke.  I wonder if the wealthy are also "too rich to fail," that eventually someone bails them out.

During the late 90s, I found an awesome job that I loved, but it required a 75 mile commute one way, from Connecticut to New Jersey.  Yeah, it was mostly highway driving and I completed it in about 90 minutes or so each way, but with occasional delays, I was spending about 20 hours each week driving.  Around that time the Internet was just starting and my employer was terrified how their business of information collection and processing would be impacted by it, so they were very reluctant to embrace anything new, including telecommuting (which was emerging as new concept in the dot-com boom).  Since several employees were like me, eventually, they let us work one day from home, that we got to choose.  The company insisted on a separate phone line so that work calls could be redirected and an Internet connection, which was fine for me, but wow, it was awesome.  I got to sleep late, and a minute after my office closed at 530 PM, I was home.  It made such a difference in my life.  Eventua

Ouch!  And that is when we are yet to see the full impact of impending massive immigration of cheap labor from Latin America , spread of free online education , and more visas for high tech workers .  The Times is reporting that a college degree is now a must for jobs that typically were done by high school graduates.  They cite the example Atlanta, GA law firm Busch, Slipakoff & Schuh which has hired newly minted college grads for jobs like filing clerks, receptionist, paralegals, administrative assistants. etc. arguing that they are much more motivated, talented, and smarter.  Job creator (I love this funny term) Adam Slipakoff, the firm’s managing partner proudly proclaims, “Going to college means they are making a real commitment to their futures. They’re not just looking for a paycheck.”  I guess the only winners in this are universities that keep charging ridiculous sums for college diplomas .  I don't see how the college graduates benefit and it could be a disaster for

I have been taking a massive open online course Introduction to Philosophy at Coursera .  I have always been curious about philosophy and this free course sucked me right in.  I have already completed four weeks and wait eagerly for the next week's course material to be uploaded.  I watch the videos, do the reading, and take the quiz.  I must confess that I have learned a lot more this way than I have done in some of my university classes the old fashioned way.  I am already debating what course to take next.  Should I continue to delve deeper into philosophy or try something entirely knew, like genetics or psychology?  I am so excited about the future of online learning that I wonder what will happen to brick and mortar universities where students pay tens of thousands of dollars each year to live on campus, drink lots of beer, party like there is no tomorrow, and then occasionally study.  They also have lots of weekends, holidays, and breaks with the net result being an undergr

I don't know how it got into my head that one should workout every day , but when I decided to get more disciplined about my fitness , I found that the best way to be regular was to make it part of my routine.  So I argued that if I could do some exercises before the morning shower that I took five days a week before going to work, it would work well, and it did.  I am proud to say that for almost 20 years now, it has worked very well for me.  Just in case, a weekday happens to be a holiday or I am on vacation , I don't workout or might workout later in the day, but other than that, it works for me.  It has also helped me stay reasonably healthy and fit , despite the fact that I work from home on a computer . It was in this context that I came across a study (published in Exercise & Science in Sports & Medicine) by Dr. Gary Hunter of University of Alabama at Birmingham.  He has found that when it comes to exercise “ less may be more .”  According to this research, pe

The FTC has found that about 5% of Americans have errors in their credit reports and that could mean that you may have a harder time borrowing or just pay higher interest rates.  While I am not so meticulous in getting my free credit report copy each year , and during the last year, I refinanced my home , changed my auto insurance policy , and leased a car without any problem, after reading about this report, I still decided to get a copy of my credit history .  Obviously, it is free, and easy to get (you have to remember some basic information about your previous addresses and loans because each credit agency asks for different information to confirm your identity). Well, I did find some minor errors on my report.  For instance, Experian completely missed one address that I lived at during the late 90s for several years.  And Equifax actually made two addresses out of one, in one case it was correctly listed as Apt# A19 and another time as Apt#819.  I don't know if it makes any d

For anyone who loves potatoes, this is a simple snack to make.  What we do is to make a lot of these and then freeze them.  Yeah, they don't taste as yummy as when eaten fresh, but there are times that when we stop working at around 6 PM, that by the time I climb one flight of stairs up to the kitchen, I am famished.  Lorena comes down from her second floor office and she too has no energy to cook.  Then, we pull a few of these babies out and bake them for a couple of minutes to munch them with a glass of wine , while we contemplate what to have for dinner, say, something like stuffed poblano peppers .  To make these, boil potatoes, peel them, mash them with your hands so they still have small pieces, add peas and chopped cilantro, salt, and black pepper.  You can cook them on a flat pan after spraying them with some olive oil, though, they will turn out pretty good in the oven as well.

A relatively simple dish to make at home for anyone who is busy but wants to eat something interesting.  The hardest part is probably the roasting of the peppers but once you do that, get rid of the carbon.  From here on, it is entirely up to you what you want to stuff it with.  We used shredded Monterrey Jack cheese with pre-cooked Beluga lentils and then topped it off with Mexican corn salsa .  After a long day at work, this is easy and delicious, especially with a glass of Spanish wine .

I am sure that most families struggle with menu planning but Lorena and I do even more because we both run our business from home and often eat almost all of our meals at home .  We are very selective about where we go to eat out because unless we are positive that the extra calories are worth it, we would rather cook something fresh at home .  Trust me, after a few years of doing that, we are bored and have run out of ideas, despite watching way too much Cooking Channel and borrowing tons of cooking books from the library.  That is when we came across this service in which they mail you a box with a bunch of ingredients along with menus.  The first one was from Mexico and the tortilla soup was cooked within minutes of arrival because it came just before lunch.  Definitely yummy.  We also devoured the Mrs Renfro's chipotle corn salsa in a matter of days.  Delicious, as well.  We also tried the Nonna Lole's Soffrito for Arroz Valenciana and it is very good as well.  We are yet

Call me unreasonable, but there are parts of the world for which I have a soft corner: France , Spain , Japan , and Argentina .  That often results in consumption of way too much wine from France, Spain and Argentina, and a lot of Japanese food .  Monte Ducay is a delicious wine with a earthy flavor.  We combined it with some delicious tapas made at home.  Strongly recommended.

When I was trying to lease a car during past spring, I did not even consider a hybrid because the initial cost is so high, even with all the tax incentives I was going to get.  So no surprise then that like most Americans, I ended up leasing a regular SUV.  I knew that we must look at the total cost of ownership of a vehicle over time and this chart below (from Union of Concerned Scientists) demonstrates that if you buy and use an automobile for 15 years and drive like an average American, a good hybrid is much cheaper.  My concern is that unless you take excellent care of your vehicle, 15 is a very long time.  While I am not as spoiled as many Americans who dump their cars after 100K, I find that once you have driven a car for about 7 years, it can give you a lot of trouble .  So it might very well be that a regular gasoline powered car might be cheaper for you as well, but this research is useful.

I had always wondered how the gas prices worked and if gas stations were profitable.  I once even asked a gas station owner in my town and he told me that they were not really profitable to give him a comfortable lifestyle so he made most of his money from an auto repair shop and towing service that he ran from the same facility.  He also mentioned that other owners stay in business by selling impulse purchase items like snacks and drinks , along with emergency items that people need in the neighborhood or during a road trip .  They overprice them because when people buy something at a gas station, they have pretty much decided that price does not matter.  Now the Union of Concerned Scientists has crunched some numbers and has published this graphic that shows that when I fill up my tank on the RAV4 , the gas station has barely made a buck.  

Lorena bought one of those LivingSocial deals to learn how to make truffles at the ChocoLee Chocolates (Dartmouth/Tremont Streets).  I guess we were both envisioning it to be something truly romantic to do in month of February around Valentine's Day.  We imagined being in a cute kitchen around a table learning the mysterious process of making truffles.  Well, we should have reasoned a bit.  After all, if you are buying a deeply discounted experience, that is what you are going to get.  So when we showed up at the place on a Wednesday night, this was nothing like what you see in those chocolates commercials on television.  The classes are held in a dinghy soup kitchen.  The chef is knowledgeable and a lot of fun.  She has also structured the class well so everything is taken care of, but the class is overcrowded.  So you have to mostly stand and watch.  You still get to do some things and you will learn pretty much what you need to in order to make truffles at home. The other big pr

For the second time in our lives, we leased, this time a Toyota RAV4 and prior to that we had a Honda CRV.  Now when we leased the CRV , because raised our annual mileage to 15,000 by paying a discounted rate upfront, but when we drove it for a few months (the car was totaled in an accident) we realized that we never hit the monthly average (because we work from home).  So with the RAV4, we stuck to the standard 12,000 miles taking on the risk that we will exceed the mileage at the end of three years.  But what has fascinated me is that dealer keeps calling us much more ahead of time for our schedule maintenance.  For example, for the 5K maintenance, the phone started to ring when we had barely crossed 2K miles in the beginning of month three.  For the 10K maintenance, the phone is ringing not in the tenth month but in the 7th month when we have just about 7,000 miles.  It makes me believe that car lessors know fully well that people will drive a lot more than a thousand miles a month

I have always been curious about philosophy and wished that if I had the time and money, I would join undergraduate classes at a nearby university (I wanted to learn for the joy of learning because I already have two masters degrees).  It did not happen till Coursera came along and I found that they, in partnership with University of Edinburgh in Scotland, were offering an Introduction to Philosophy course for free.  Let me tell you while I had heard great things about online learning, once I started taking the classes, only then I realized that it is even better than my wildest expectations.  Some of the best parts: I 'go to school' sort of whenever I want. I can literally take classes on my couch while sipping a glass of wine. If my mind wanders or I don't grasp something right away all I need to do is to rewind the video.  Yeah, one could ask a question in class, but not always, and it is impossible to admit to a professor that you did not pay attention to what he just s

If you feel like me you are not alone.  Over the years, except for an occasional bill that I get in the snail mail, almost everything else is junk.  So why is it that the less junk mail we read, the more we get.  Well, it is complicated why that happens.  First of all, some idiots still read their junk mail and actually buy stuff based on it.  Two, the more USPS struggles financially, the more it lowers the rate for shipping junk mail , so marketers can flood our mailboxes at increasingly lower rates (junk mail accounted for 56% of all postal deliveries in 2011, compared with 45% ten years ago).  That means that they can still turn a profit on direct mail and not spend that money on online advertising .  And finally, as technology has improved, direct marketers now have highly detailed profiles on you because they have married the data they have collected online on you and the ones available from traditional resources like county records, neighborhood statistics, and surveys comple

For last couple of years, I had been beating myself up for not buying Apple (AAPL) stock.  As a management consultant I should have anticipated that people will go nuts wasting their money on iPads and iPhones.  Instead, I kept my money in XLK and QQQQ, index funds that track technology stocks.  The stock kept rising and I kept getting depressed for blowing the chance, until now when I heard that after the sales cooled off, investors dumped the stock and people lost a lot of money.  Yet again, a reminder that it is so hard for individual investors to accurately figure out the best time to enter and exit a stock.  The best thing to do is to invest in a basket of stocks .  So yes, the downward pressure on Apple did impact index funds, but not as much.

I learned this new term today and basically what it means is that when you have too much of something you are unable to progress.  You know how they say that necessity is the mother of invention or that lack of resources makes people resourceful.  That is why when you have things available without even trying, you just waste your life.  This paradox explains that despite having so much wealth, the Middle East is so screwed up with people basically becoming terrorists or not doing much with their lives.

According to University of Canterbury researchers Carsten Grimm -- surprise, surprise -- making love, partying , and drinking alcohol make us the happiest and we should be doing more of them.  Some people also found happiness engaging in listening to music , hanging out with people they like , and volunteering.  Again, do more of these.  And what not to do?   Working, doing chores around the house , commuting, and believe it or not, using Facebook.  The last one really surprised me because I see so many people spending hours Facebooking which in reality makes you depressed because you only see the happy side of other people's life.  People share their photos dressed up in beautiful clothes or vacationing in exotic places or hanging out in bars and restaurants .  Almost no one updates their status saying that they don't have money to pay their bills or that they failed in an exam or their boss called them incompetent.

Background:   My wife and I are both self-employed.  We have 800 plus credit and except for a car lease of $300 a month, have no other debt.  Our net worth is more than a quarter million dollars and during the last two years our income exceeded $100,000.  We have lived in the house since 2001 and have paid each and every bill on time.  We also have more than one third equity in the house. Bank:   From the moment we bought out house our mortgage has been with Wells Fargo.  I am no fan but it works for us so we have even refinanced it with them twice.  This was our third time refinancing but first time since the banks tightened their standards after the 2008 financial meltdown.  The first person we talked to convinced us that we were better off just using HARP to keep things simple.  Not that we were afraid of property valuation but this was going to keep things simple. Interaction with Wells Fargo:   I am a well organized guy so all my paperwork was in order.  When the first set of docu

In addition to Render and Masa , we decided to go to lunch at this Indian restaurant in Boston's South End neighborhood.  On a Sunday, contrary to our expectations, it was dead.  In any case, there are several places to eat in the area, so we probably would not have liked to wait.  Thankfully, we also found street parking.  It is a small place but decorated well and I really appreciated the white napkins and nice dishes, things that are typically lacking in Indian restaurant brunches.  There were about a dozen dishes to choose from and I ate lentils, tandoor chicken, spinach paneer, stuffed dosa, and nan bread.  Overall, nothing worth talking about and the bread actually may not be as fluffy as it sometimes is.  Definitely, a pleasant experience eating there but I would not categorize it as anything special, but then lunch in Boston for about $13 is a bargain.

After a lot of thought we bought a Frigidaire Refrigerator FRS6L9EFSS4 and we were generally quite happy until the water dispense broke when a visiting teenager pressed it too hard (it was only then I realized that this part should have never been made from plastic considering how heavily it is used and how someone can apply extra pressure).  When I called Frigidaire, I was told that they could install it at a cost of $200, which sounded way too high considering that we paid a little less than $1,000 for it.  That is when I decided to research if we could repair it ourselves, even though I had never done a job like this, nor does the manual have any instructions on how to do it, but there are YouTube videos from DIY types, who make it look quite easy. After buying the part on Amazon for about $40, I could not even make myself open the water dispenser unit because I was afraid that I might damage something.  This is where Craig's List came handy and I put an ad for a handyman who ha

Since I live in New England, I know what dry skin feels like.  Fortunately for me, being married to a woman who is an expert in beauty and health, we use plenty of body lotion.  We were big fans of L'Occitane until we discovered the EveryDay Shea Moisturizing Body Lotion that was parabens free and fair trade and so we switched.  It generally works most of the time but when it gets really cold and the air dries up completely, it does not matter how many times you apply these lotions, the skin still itched.  In fact during a cold snap this year, it got so bad that I literally had blood on my nails because I was scratching so hard.  That is when someone recommended Cetaphil.  I had never heard of the brand and was a little skeptical, but boy, it worked.  I can't say enough good things about it because my dryness disappeared completely and I need to apply just once a day.  I do it right after my morning shower.  Strongly recommended.